Shatter
by scelerus animus
Summary: [Complete] Sometimes, so twisted and meshed were his dreams with reality that he couldn't tell one from the other... [SetoJou, yaoi]
1. And So the Dream Begins

Author Notes: Just something that had been nagging at the back of my mind for a few months and demanded to be written, so I did. And finally I've gotten around to post it, meh. It does have more than a few details you might want to notice for future chaps, since I have the worst habit of being a stickler for details but eh… what can I do? Heh. And it may be slightly confusing at first, which is intended… but hopefully everything will come together in the end. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

**disclaimer:** dreamy look Oh, the delicious possibilities if I actually owned Yu-Gi-Oh… but, sadly, I don't…

**notes/warnings:** SetoJou (semi-established), yaoi, shonen-ai (don't like, don't read), weirdness, flashbacks, voices in Jou's head, crude language, possible OOC-ness, foreshadowing, dreams, reality…

I wrote their names as surnames then first names.

_Ne –_ means, depending on context, either 'Hey' or sort of like asking for confirmation, like 'Right?' or 'Isn't that so?'

_Italics –_ denotes either flashbacks, emphasized wordsand phrases, or… well, for right now, we'll just call 'it' the voice inside Jou's head…

So without further adieu…

* * *

**Shatter  
**By: Scelerus Animus

_Chapter One  
And So the Dream Begins_

Random thoughts floated through his mind, snippets and comments that he neither comprehended nor cared to at the moment. As if adrift in a lazy reverie, his breath was even and deep honey-brown eyes were half-closed in utter relaxation. And this happened so few times that he was purely content to rest his head in a rather comfortable lap, the owner of said lap so occupied by a worn, age-old book, that aforementioned person took no notice to the untidy mop of golden blonde hair currently occupying his lap. Thus he did not make a most-likely dog-related comment on the blonde's slightly perplexed look of thought swirling in his honey-brown eyes.

To the blonde, this moment was sheer bliss.

Distantly, he heard the slight crinkle of paper as the brunet turned the page of his oh-so fascinating novel. …_Right. _Even after these past six months—or years, considering how long he had actually known the brunet—he could not understand what was so interesting about a book. Sure, some were okay_, perhaps_, even enjoyable to read, as long as they weren't textbooks or other such books that the damn school assigned him to read, and yeah, he didn't mind reading a book for fun, just not when the useless school told him to read one, but still…

Hey, he had never said he was the most logical of teenagers. The book-obsessed freak would most certainly agree with him on that; in fact, the brunet actually had told him so on various occasions.

Another crinkle of paper. Another turn of the page.

Mentally, he shook the sleep out of his eyes, his hazy reverie dissipating along with the curling fog of slumber. He did not want to fall asleep just yet.

"Seto."

No response was heard. Either the brunet didn't hear him or was ignoring him entirely. Oh why, oh why did the blonde think it was more than likely the former?

"_Seeetoooo._"

Still no response. Now, the blonde _knew _it was the former rather than the latter.

"_Seto_, c'mon. I wanna ask ya somet'ing," Jounouchi whined to his boyfriend.

Though… really, _boyfriend _implied some kind of relationship. He wasn't _in_ a relationship—none of that mushy lovey-dovey crap.

Jounouchi mentally sighed. Seto, Seto, his beloved Seto. But, no, again that implied a relationship. In which they weren't. Jou was just foolish enough to dream that they were.

Another crinkle. Another page.

"_Seeetoooo._"

Memorizing the page number for later, Kaiba Seto finally closed his hardback novel and placed it on the plush cushion beside him where a small fragile figurine of a golden puppy dog also lay amongst the remains of shiny wrapping paper.

One pale, slender hand lightly digging itself into Jounouchi's soft golden locks while the other came to rest on his muscled chest, playing lightly with the metal dog tags scattered lazily across his slightly dirty white T-shirt, Kaiba's impassive cerulean blue eyes finally locked with Jou's warm honey-brown ones.

_Remember, Jou, remember, it's just a dream. Not a relationship. If it isn't a relationship you can't get hurt. …Simply a dream fabricated by your own pitiable longings. _

"Yes pup?" Kaiba asked, Jounouchi instantly melting into the cool, silk-like tones of the CEO's gorgeous voice.

_Just a dream… Nothing more, nothing less, little Jou, foolish Jou…_

Right. No mushy lovey-dovey shit. _Riiiight._ Perhaps, someday, his friends would finally convince him that Kaiba really could never care about him that way. Perhaps, they could snap him out of his foolish dream before he got hurt.

Or, perhaps, he had already realized that it was too late; he would forever live—_be trapped_—in the dream he had created.

Delicate fingers gently raked through his golden hair. Though, truth be told, there was not anything _delicate_ about Kaiba at all. With his flawless, overconfident posture, breath-taking looks, superior-than-thou attitude, and deep, unyeilding cerulean eyes that could freeze Hell and this Earth over with just one glare—Kaiba was anything but _delicate_. Merciless, compassionless, vicious, brutal, coldhearted, cruel, arrogant, genius, confident, imperishable, indestructable, overpowering, supreme—these were words that others would find more fitted to Kaiba Seto. Certainly not _delicate_.

_Except, perhaps, in your pathetic dreams… fool… _

Shifting slightly, Jou continued to become lost in Kaiba's shockingly blue eyes, so deep, ever changing from one shade of blue to the next, from the raging ocean to a brilliant sapphire. Although Jounouchi was probably the only one to ever notice this small detail, but that suited him just fine. For some reason he didn't like the idea of someone else being so close to Kaiba to notice the little fact, aside from Mokuba, that is.

And Jounouchi took pleasure in the fact that he was doubtlessly the only person to associate the word _delicate_ with the ruthless CEO of Kaiba Corp. (except for possibly Mokuba but, again, that was entirely different story).

"Mutt, I haven't got all day," said the CEO, interrupting Jounouchi's pleasant musings. Watching as his mutt abruptly snapped out of his daze, blinking rapidly, Kaiba couldn't help the slight curve of his lips that appeared, nor the raise of an elegant brown eyebrow in amusement. Lazily sliding between his slender fingers, the dog tags were cool to his touch.

"Yeah, yeah, ye're a liar Kaiba. Jeez, ya act like ya lov' dat book more dan me," murmured Jounouchi, arching his back as he stretched and yawned. Settling back into the comfortable cushions of the worn leather couch and Kaiba's warm lap (even if somewhat bony; Kaiba was still getting used to Jou forcing him from his precious laptop to eat regular meals), Jounouchi lazily smiled up at the CEO, mussed blonde hair flopping low over honey-brown eyes. "We have all th' time da world."

"All the time in the world," repeated Kaiba softly, looking up to stare blankly at the large expanse of living room, dark blue eyes clouding over with something unfamiliar. He was remembering, drifting in the past, long ago it seemed, before the pup had somehow weaved his way into Kaiba's life, his life apart from dueling and school; or perhaps he was drifting in the future. Either way, Jounouchi wasn't so sure he liked that distant look. Like the calm before a storm.

"Seto?"

Rich cerulean hues locking with honey-brown depths once more, Kaiba smiled. Well, it was only a quirk of his mouth in reality—a smirk if anything, but still, Jou appreciated it just the same. "Yes, pup," affirmed Kaiba, "we have all the time in the world."

_Silly, silly, mongrel, even your precious Seto—the one you have created from your fantasies— knows it's just a dream in which you're living… Not the real world. …Forever doesn't last in the real world, a painful lesson you **will** learn, Katsuya… _

Satisfied with the answer, Jounouchi's tired honey-brown eyes slowly closed as he became lulled to sleep by the slim, gentle fingers dragging soothingly through his golden locks.

They both rested in silence, both content as Jou dozed sleepily, head on Kaiba's lap, and as Kaiba idly played with the silky, sweet-smelling locks of golden blonde hair and metal dog tags sprawled across Jou's chest. And, like this, they stayed for a while, just a while. Like this. Content. Just for a while.

_Tch… Just for your dream… a dream that has to end sometimes, little Jou-chan…and reality will come crashing down around you… you can't escape it… never will…_

"So what did you want to ask me, puppy?" Kaiba finally said, breaking the silence. But that was okay since Jounouchi could listen to his voice for just as long as he could stare at Kaiba himself. And _that_ was for many, many hours. Beautiful. Another word that Jou associated with Kaiba that others didn't.

Furrowing his brow, Jounouchi tried to remember what he had been going to ask. "Oh yeah," Jou said, suddenly remembering, "Do ya think dreams die?" He paused for a moment, as if trying to find a way to express what he was attempting to say more clearly. "Ehh, I mean, ya know, do they… umm, well… die…" he finished, once again unable to find another word.

_Hah, as if you don't know that, stupid mutt, little Jou-chan. …Stupid question, really. …Of course, they die; they die, they burn, they rot and sting, with you along for the agonizing ride… entrapped in their deceitful ways full of fallicious white clouds, Katsuya… _

Impassive cerulean eyes stared down at Jou, a slender eyebrow quirked. A clink of metal was heard as the dog tags were rolled between Kaiba's _delicate, _white fingers. "That is either an extremely profound question or an extremely idiotic one, pup."

_Completely idiotic, pitiful excuse for a human…_

Grumbling good-naturedly, Jou turned over on his stomach and nuzzled his nose into Seto's thigh. "Eh… I'll go wit' da first one," he mumbled through Seto's black slacks, managing successfully to get spit on their dry-cleaned spotlessness. He smiled triumphantly, nuzzling his nose once more into Seto's thigh.

Suppressing the urge to roll his dark blue eyes, Kaiba gazed down at his puppy, faint curiosity drifting through his mind as he traced indistinguishable patterns across the back of Jou's white T-shirt.

"Why do you want to know, mutt?"

Jounouchi shifted again, snuggling more into Seto's warmth. Warmth that he never wanted leave.

"'Cause… umm… yeah, just 'cause."

'_Cause you feel like you're in a dream right now, ne, Katsuya? A delicious wonderful dream from which you never want to wake up. What will happen when you do wake up from it? Will you cry? Will you break? Will you shatter into tiny pieces? I'm sure you will… and I'll watch and laugh…_

Slowly, Seto slid an elegant finger down Jounouchi's spine, causing him to shiver under the simple but teasing touch.

Unspoken.

_'What if it… my dream… dies? Do we die? Was there even a 'we' to begin? Tell me, Seto. Please tell me.'_ Jou buried his face deeper into Seto's thigh, trying to block out his—no, the thoughts being implanted in his mind.

"I do not dream, pup. Dreams are for the foolish."

_'Liar.'_

But Jounouchi didn't speak his reply aloud, simply snuggled more into Seto's lap. He dozed while graceful white fingers relaxingly petted his sunny golden locks and continued to trace indistinct patterns on his back.

This was nice. This was peaceful.

_Well, then, enjoy it while you can, dog, little Jou-chan… because it won't last forever, not even close._

Jou yawned.

How could he help but think it was only a dream. After all, only in his dreams had he ever pictured this.

"Come on, mutt, it's time for you to go to bed," Kaiba softly commanded, nudging Jou slightly. "I do not want your drool all over my pants."

Jou simply snuggled some more.

"Nuh-uh," he whined, refusing to get up. "Not 'nless you come wit' me. 'S too late, anyways, already got drool on yer pants."

Kaiba suppressed another sigh and roll of his eyes.

"You know I have work to do, since for the entire day I have been deprived of my laptop thanks to Mokuba and you, so up, pup. _Now_."

Sighing, Jou reluctantly got up, stretched, and crossed his arms, scowling at Seto. Unaffected by the irritated glare, Kaiba also stood.

"Good pup."

Jou simply scowled some more.

Gently, almost tenderly, Kaiba took a hold of Jou's chin and turned his head until heated, more-than-slightly tired honey-brown clashed with cool cerulean.

"You're tired and it's late, so got to _bed_."

"Fine, fine," Jou grumbled.

With a soft kiss, Kaiba let go of Jou's chin and sent him upstairs to his bedroom while he headed in the opposite direction toward his office.

"G'night." Jou called sleepily as he opened the large wooden doorto their bedroom (well, it really was Seto's but Jou always slept there anyways) and stepped inside.

Collapsing on the bouncy, king-sized bed, Jou immediately wrapped himself in all the nice, warm, rich blue blankets. Not as warm as Seto though.

He sighed into the fluffy pillow, burrowing his head into it. Beside the huge bed, positioned on the mahogany bedside table, the electronic alarm clock glowed 10:42.

He knew Kaiba would be up until at least two o'clock, working on that damn laptop of his, always coding, creating, doing something for his stupid company. Sometimes, he would stay up as late as three. Then, finally, after hours of further ruining his eyesight staring at the damn computer screen, he would shut it down, change, and get into bed with Jou, who was naturally, like any other regular human being, already asleep at that time. Yet Kaiba did this, only to get up at exactly five o'clock, after about two or three hours of sleep, to go to Kaiba Corp. and, guess what?—work.

It was not healthy. Jou knew this. Hell, Jou knew Kaiba knew this.

_Yet he doesn't listen to you. Even if it is for his own health, ne, mutt? Even now, you are beneath him, not worthy of opinion. Even in your own fabricated dream, Katsuya…_

But being the stubborn Kaiba Seto that he was, god forbid that he actually listen to Jou for once.

Jou sighed, attempting to merge with the warm abundance of blankets piled atop of him.

Cold. He felt so cold. Empty. In this empty bed.

Why?

_Why do you ask what you already know, Jou-chan? Little Jou, little Jou, so lost, can't find his way._

Snuggling deeper, he tried to sleep, quickly and without dreams.

Or, perhaps, instead of dreaming would he wake up?

Seto said he didn't dream.

Jou knew that was a lie. But he hadn't said anything.

Because Seto would not listen.

Dreams dreamed a dream of dreams.

Jou dreamed a dream of dreams.

_You can't even face the truth, can you? What lies right in front of your nose, so close that it spits on you, mocks you, and it will laugh as you fall, trapped within your own creation, Katsuya. But, of course, you can't face it—can't face reality. This dream you have created is proof of that, ne, Jou-chan?_

He _lived_ in a dream of dreams.

Maybe this really was a dream he had created. Maybe.

If it was, he just hoped that dreams never died.

_Foolish little Jou-chan…_

Because he didn't want to wake up.

—————————

With a furious growl that escaped his throat, sounding more like a chocked back sob instead, Jounouchi Katsuya glared at the dirty, unclean ground, elbows resting on his knees, hands harshly clenched in messy blonde locks, and head hung low between his legs. Dully, he noted that the once white linoleum floor was cold, freezing even. Yet, despite that fact, it seemed no where near the artic iciness that encased Kaiba's glacial black heart.

Numbly, as if in one of those old movies that sometimes where so screwed up that they repeated scenes over and over again, the fight replayed continuously, in Jounouchi's mind, slowly shattering his heart piece by piece and igniting the raging fire in his blood.

"_Bastard! You fuckin' bastard! What in th' fuckin' Hell have I done to deserve this, you BASTARD!" Jou screamed, fury spreading through his veins like a bullet shot to kill._

"_Oh, is the little mutt hurt? Is he going to cry?" taunted the cerulean-eyed CEO before him, cold and uncaring._

"_Shut up! Sh–shut the fuck up!"_

"_Yes, pathetic mutt, I do believe I see tears."_

"_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" yelled Jou, his vision indeed blurring with bitter water. _

_Around him, voices of the rather large crowd of students meshed so horribly together that his mind couldn't make sense of them, too focused on the callous, icy-eyed teen that the growing horde of students also circled. In the most inner ring of Domino High's students, his friends shouted, pleading with him to just ignore Kaiba; Anzu and Ryou were holding back Hondo while Yugi tried to talk some sense into Jounouchi, attempting to get him to walk away before something extremely bad happened._

_But it was too late. Fists clenched and honey-brown eyes seething, Jou was far past that point. _

"_Pitiful excuse for a human… did you really think you were worth something, hmm?" That voice, which had been so soft and almost caring the previous night, was ruthless and mocking, a deadly drug to Jou's mind and heart._

"_Wh–what? B–but… bastard! Just fuck you, Kaiba! Fu–fuck you!" Jou yelled, taking a furious, unconscious step forward, his voice raw and cracking at the edges. A tear slid done his face, unnoticed by the surrounding crowd, but not by the coldhearted CEO._

_In the distance, the voice of a teacher shrieked in anger, something about 'those two idiots at it again!' but Jounouchi's mind didn't grasp it, so filled was it with rage and cerulean eyes._

_Obviously, however, the smirking CEO did hear and comprehend it, as, in a blur of blue, he grabbed Jou's arm and pulled him through the throng of students and around several buildings—the locker rooms, the cafeteria, etc—until they far away from any nosy, irritating students and their equally as annoying voices._

_Jounouchi was pulled along in a dazed shock, colors meshing and clashing around him. It was only when he was harshly slammed against the side of an unknown building that he was jolted out of his shock, rage and hurt filling his mind once again. _

_A voice whispered in his ear, so close that lips brushed against the lobe, but not lovingly, no, it was scornful and laughing: "Is this what you want, mutt, little Jou-chan?"—the name sounded oddly familiar to Jou, yet he was unable to place from where, though the spite coated around it was easily detectable—"Is this what you crave, inferior animal?" _

_A tongue flicked out to trace the curve of Jou's ear, and he shuddered against the body pressed against him, mind stupefied into a swirling haze once again. _

_It felt like scorching fire that left his skin ablaze despite the harsh coldness of the atmosphere around them._

"_This is what you desire, isn't it, mutt?" whispered Kaiba, malicious and without mercy. Pale, agile hands trailed down Jounouchi's lithe body, brushing over spots that where known, by Kaiba at least, for making Jou weak in the knees. Sardonic kisses were pressed below the blonde's ear, trailing along his jaw._

"_Tell me, is this what you want, Katsuya? To touch me? Kiss me? Lick me? Taste me? To_ fuck_ me? Or to have me _fuck_ you?" Each phrase was punctuated with a kiss along the jaw, vicious and spiteful. _

_Jounouchi trembled, fury and agony boiling within his blood, yet unable to do anything about it, as his muscles didn't seem to have the strength to move. Pearly white tears now slid freely down his face, dripping off his chin. Sobs turned into harsh gasps as he tried to muffle them, face buried in soft brown hair, vanilla overwhelming his senses._

"_Is this your pathetic dream, Katsuya?" In utter cruelty, each word was mockingly muttered, intoned to hurt, to destroy, to shatter, and the owner knew they were performing a prefect job at doing so. Chuckling softly, Kaiba absently licked the tears that streamed down Jounouchi's face._

"_Well, I'm sorry little Jou-chan, but the world doesn't work that way. It's depraved and like a fiend; it will eat you alive, if all your meaningless life you exist in a dream, pathetic mongrel," murmured Kaiba, lips brushing against tanned skin tauntingly, and Jou felt his heart crack._

"_Besides," Kaiba murmured, lips curving into an absolutely hateful smirk, frosty cerulean eyes gazing into blurry honey-brown, "I've already fucked you, haven't I? Therefore there is no reason to spend any more time with you, ne?"_

_As if struck by a bolt of lightening, red appeared before Jou's eyes, and with a furious cry, he pushed Kaiba away and punched him. Taken by surprise, the CEO's head snapped to the side, and he stumbled against the opposite building wall._

"_You're a fuckin' bastard, Kaiba! You call me lowlife scum, but you are just a damn hypocrite! That's all you are Kaiba, a fuckin' hypocrite!" _

_Wiping blood from his mouth, Kaiba merely stood up and smirked, gazing at Jounouchi as if he were something to break and destroy. Something that he had already succeeded in breaking and destroying. Then with that same smirk on his face, he turned and left._

_Jou slumped against the brick wall, exhausted and the cracks in his heart engraved so deep that each piece seemed a whole world from the next._

With another furious growl, Jounouchi Katsuya suddenly stood and spun around, slamming his fist into the beat-up locker. At the moment, somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was supposed to be in detention (ironically, for ditching his first three classes this morning after the fight, not the fight itself, though he had detention for that, next week), but he couldn't care less.

Pain ricocheting through his palm, Jou suddenly pulled his hand close to his chest, cradling it. Furiously, whether more at Kaiba or at himself he did not know, the blonde examined his palm where a shiny burn mark, which he had received the day before, pulsed with a stinging ache. As if impulsively deciding that the pain was welcomed, he curled his fist, crimson dripping from his bloody knuckles onto the filthy linoleum.

"Damn you, Kaiba! Screw you, ya fuckin' bastard!" he yelled to the empty hallway, forehead coming to rest on the dented, dull blue lockers, fists slamming against them once again, this time not caring for the biting pain. "What the fuck did I do to deserve this, Kaiba? What the fuck did I do wrong? Did I do anything wrong?" Jou chocked back another sob. "Damn it, please… just tell me. Tell me it wasn't all just a dream."

Hazily, through blurry, slightly red honey-brown eyes, Jounouchi noticed the flyer posted on the dented blue locker on which his head rested. The monthly menu that had what food was going to be served on what day was printed neatly on it. Oddly, he felt like ripping it from the dull blue locker and shredding it into tiny pieces, tearing it, destroying the calendar.

Vaguely, he noted today's date. June sixth. Vaguely, Jounouchi wondered why that date sounded disturbingly familiar, other than being today's date.

_Awe, the poor little mutt is confused, isn't he? Would you like me to make everything clear for you? Would you like it if I told you why your precious Kaiba has suddenly seemed to have done a complete one-eighty on you? Why he suddenly despises your very appearance? Would you, naive Jou-chan? _

For lunch, some kind of unknown meat. Funny how he couldn't remember eating that. Perhaps, it was because he hadn't been in the lunchroom that day, along with his friends. Solitude he had craved earlier that day, a place to cool off and think about Kaiba's abrupt change in attitude.

June sixth. Just another ordinary day. Nothing special about it. Yet why did he feel like his life had just ended?

_Silly, silly Jou-chan… You are so desperate to know what has happened to this twisted little relationship of yours with Kaiba, ne? Pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. However, foolish Jou, stupid Jou, only you can answer that question… After all, isn't this your own pathetic dream, which you have created? All you have to do is wake up. Wake up, little Jou-chan… Katsuya… wake up…_

Honey-brown eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to block out his surroundings, spinning, dizzying… And his thoughts—the thoughts in his head… his head.

He did not want to wake up. No. No. No!

Deciding that he had enough of this shit, Jounouchi grabbed his backpack, blood from his ruined knuckles staining the strap, burn mark still stinging from the previous day, and swiftly headed down the vacant hallway, detention far from his mind.

One last crash, as Jounouchi punched the lockers once again while walking towards the exit, was the only thing that sounded through the empty hallway.

* * *

More Author Babbling: And so ends the first chappie, hehe. Confusing? Maybe. Intentional? Totally. Really, this was simply a very warped idea that popped into my head one day… mou… so much for my sane (not really…) mind. Anyway, like I said, you guys might want to remember a few things such as Jou's burn mark, the date, the puppy figurine, etc…

Reviews are greatly appreciated and loved! Constructive criticism, comments, questions, anything is welcome! Except flames, of course. They will be laughed at. And please pardon and feel free to point out any typos or spelling/grammar mistakes; this wasn't beta-ed. Please review!

Thanks and till next time…

Ja ne!

– Scelerus Animus


	2. Welcome to Reality

Author Notes: My apologies for taking so freakin' long, but I've been rather lazy and some other shit that you probably don't hear about… so onto other things!

**disclaimer**: nope… damn…

**notes/warnings:** dreams and/or sequences are not in chronological order, SetoJou, general weirdness, probable OOC-ness, language, more flashbacks/dreams, and the like…

To all my **reviewers, **thank you so much! Your encouragement keeps me writing! And to answer one of your questions, the supposed 'thoughts' in _italics_ are, for now, a 'voice' in Jou's head… but all will later be explained. Thanks again!

Oh, and mucho thanks to _Evi-chan _(yes, dear! I'm calling you that an' you can't do nothing! Payback! Mwahahaha…) for yelling at me and getting me up off my lazy ass to update this fic, heh… -.-;;

And without further adieu…

* * *

**Shatter  
**By: Scelerus Animus

_Chapter two  
Welcome to Reality_

—

Dazed and stars still spinning around his head, Jounouchi met the irritated cerulean gaze of the person into whom he had just crashed and knocked over. Shaking his head to rid the dizziness from his mind, he blinked and once again met the same ruthless gaze, which now had transferred into a full-blown glare.

"Eh… heh, hey Kaiba," he said, flushing slightly and absently scratching the back of his head. "How's it goin'?"

Squirming nervously as the only response he received was a fiercer glare, Jounouchi realized that he was straddling the currently fuming CEO's abdomen, which was only covered in a white, button-up shit, sleeves rolled up, Kaiba's trademark trench coats nowhere to be found. Once again, faint red stained his cheeks and he frantically wiggled, this time trying to maneuver off the CEO lying flat on his back with a glare that could freeze Hell itself.

But, as if sensing the blonde's intentions, Kaiba swiftly sat up, causing Jou to pause, surprised, in his anxious movements and slide down the CEO's slim body until he straddled the brunet's lap. Easily and fluidly, the brunet pinned Jounouchi's hands, palms down, to the warm sidewalk so he would have no chance in escaping.

A sound, somewhere between a squeak and a hiss, sounded through the moist summer air as the scorching cement burned the rough skin of Jounouchi's palms. Callously ignoring the blonde's discomfort, Kaiba leaned toward Jou until they were practically nose-to-nose, a sneer forming at the corner's of his mouth and his cerulean eyes glinting maliciously beneath the intense afternoon sun.

"Tell me, mutt, what are you doing here?" he murmured, his voice soft, almost like silk, yet Jou was wary of the deceiving tone and, especially, of Kaiba's dangerous smirk that promised the blonde countless pain and torture.

Deciding to switch tactics, Jounouchi retorted, "Wha'd ya mean, what am _I_ doin' here, Kaiba? 'Dis is th' park, a public place da last time I checked, and you woul' neva' go to a place where mere commoners such as me socialize. Pft."

Kaiba looked evenly at the blonde, as if suddenly disinterested with what was being said.

"I was looking for you," he replied coolly.

Jounouchi blinked. Then he blinked again.

"Eh?"

Absentmindedly, he tossed deep golden hair out of his eyes as if trying to get a closer look at Kaiba, though said person was still barely an inch away from his face.

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Kaiba merely murmured "Idiot" and released one of Jounouchi's hands. With fierce and forceful movements, Kaiba's pale, delicate hand dug harshly into Jou mussed golden locks and, unexpectedly, crushed his lips to the blonde's. Shock reverberated through Jounouchi's mind, all other thoughts instantly melting beneath the blissful sensation of Kaiba's mouth ravaging his, brutally and deliciously.

One tanned hand instinctively curled around Kaiba's neck as Jounouchi hungrily pressed against the CEO's lither body. Now, Jounouchi having been jolted out of his stupor, lips and teeth heatedly clashed, fighting for dominance. Deepening the kiss, Kaiba bit violently down on Jou's bottom lip, running his tongue against the swollen flesh, teasing and taunting. Intoxicating vanilla invading his senses, Jounouchi gave in and allowed the feverous tongue to plunge into his mouth. Every crevice Kaiba seemed to want to explore and Jou didn't mind in the least as his dull nails dragged across the brunet's neck and back.

Neither one seemed to notice that they still were in a very public place where any passerby could see them.

As if both teenagers realized at the same time their persistent lack of oxygen, they broke apart. Breath mingling together in muted gasps, Jounouchi slowly lifted his hazy gaze to stare at Kaiba.

"Wh–what in th' Hell was dat for?" the blonde muttered between breaths.

Resting his forehead against Jou's, Kaiba smirked and replied, "It seems, mutt, according to my brat of a little brother, I have been ignoring you as of late, and seeing as how _today_, June fifth, is, once again according to him, our six-month anniversary, whatever the hell that means, he stole my laptop and refused to give it back unless I came and found you. I suppose this so-called anniversary shit is also the reason Mokuba knew you would be in the park, sulking."

Peering through faintly damp golden locks, Jounouchi glared at the CEO, his mouth suddenly twisting into a scowl. "An' is dat th' _only _reason ya came t' find me?"

Amused, Kaiba bent his head to tauntingly kiss Jou on the nose and chuckled softly. "And what if it is, pup?"

Jerking away from the CEO and attempting to escape his unyielding grasp, Jounouchi growled, "Why I outta—"

But he was cut off as Kaiba, using the pale hand that still grasped Jounouchi's golden locks, forced their foreheads together once more. "Shut up, pup," he murmured, cerulean eyes glittering and mouth still curved into an amused smirk, "besides, I wanted to come, as well."

Jounouchi stopped struggling and stared at Kaiba. "Really?"

Kaiba raised an elegant eyebrow. "I do not repeat myself, mutt."

However, that seemed to be enough for Jou, for he lunged himself at the brunet and kissed him zealously. Yet, their kiss was abruptly ended, as Jounouchi suddenly pulled away with a small yelp.

"Fuck!" he said, wrenching his hand, still pinned against the burning sidewalk, from beneath Kaiba's palm. He shook it vigorously, trying to banish the burning sensation which seemed to light his palm on fire. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Damn fuckin' sun and th' damn fuckin' sidewalk! Dat friggin' hurts!"

"Oh, stop that, mutt," interrupted Kaiba, snatching Jou's flailing hand out of the air to inspect the damage. The tender skin on Jou's palm was dirty, puffy, and overly red. In one bottom corner of his palm, the skin was shiny and glistening, a burn mark already scarring the sensitive skin.

"Owwww!" Jou whined. "Look what ya did, Seto! Dat friggin' hurts!"

Kaiba gave Jounouchi a blank look. "Idiot."

"Meanie!" pouted Jou.

Sighing, Kaiba gently brought the stinging palm to his lips and pressed a kiss to the raw skin. "Better, mutt?"

Grinning, Jou nodded in satisfaction, for now at least. "A little," he said, honey-brown eyes mischievous, "but ye're still gonna hafta make it up to me later."

Kaiba merely shook his head in resignation and kissed Jounouchi on the lips once more.

—————————

Coldness suddenly coursing through his veins like bitter ice, he started to fall… farther and farther away from the light, the warmth… till darkness completely surrounded his mind and he couldn't escape… never escape…

…_never… never… never…_

And then he landed.

"Fuck!" Jou said with a start, jolted awake as he crashed to the freezing cement from the wooden bench on which he had previously been dozing. Reacting instinctively from all his gang years, he rolled over, poised as if ready for a sudden attack. Realizing that none came, he collapsed onto the cold cement, gasps shallow and heart racing.

"Fuck…" he said again, this time just a murmur, barely louder than his unsteady breathing. He rolled over, once again, and stared dazedly at the night sky glittering above him. A shiver passed down his body.

For such high, sweltering temperatures during the day, it was so bitterly cold when the sun had finally departed from the Heavens. Damn weather.

"A dream…" he murmured to no one in particular, "nah… just a memory, from… from da other day…"

_Oh, is the little puppy homesick already? Does he miss his master, will he run home to him, tail between his legs? Like the worthless, sniveling creature you are, ne Jou-chan?_

"Shut up!" screamed Jounouchi, sitting up in a flash, his voice echoing loud and emptily across the dark vacant park. "I shouln' hafta go back t' fuckin' Kaiba an' apologize! I didn' do anyt'ing wrong!"

_Didn't you? _

"Fuckin' hell… _wait_…" he mumbled, running his hands through his golden locks with stabbing frustration, nearly pulling chunks out in the process, "who da hell am I talkin' to? …No… nobody… no one's here… shit…"

_Always the astute one, ne little Jounouchi? So, tell me, if there isn't anyone around you, to whom are you speaking? Has your twisted little mind finally decided on acknowledging me yet? _

"Dammit, dammit, dammit," muttered Jounouchi, clutching his head and rocking slightly.

It was the cold. Gotta be the goddamned cold. Yeah, it was messing with his head. He just had to get out of it. Go home. He would go home… or, at least, to the place which used to be his home… and hide. Go home and hide. From what?

_From everything, little Jou-chan. You hide from reality in these fantasies, this dream you have created. Wouldn't you like to end this madness, disgraceful mutt? Look at what you have been reduced to. And all you have to do to end it all is wake up._

**No. **No, no, no… he didn't want to wake up.

Go home, that was what he wanted to do. Go home and hide until, hopefully, the storm ceased… because that was all he could do…

_Now you are the liar, Katsuya…_

And with that, Jounouchi stood up, albeit somewhat shakily, and exited the silent, lonely park.

Warm summer wind bit playfully at tanned skin as it whipped passed him in invigorating gushes and caused shining gold locks fly along for the wild ride. Sticking out his tongue, in the questionable resemblance to a dog, he yelled loudly, freely at the vast expanse of thriving green nothingness that lay before him. Not another soul was in sight on the narrow, two-lane road, which ran from the outlands of the never-silent city, far from the crazy freeways where loud, pounding traffic and _devastating accidents _were a common occurrence.

One hand letting go if the convertible's windshield, he raised his outstretched fingers toward the blue Heavens as if trying to touch the soothing white clouds of paradise. The blazing afternoon sun beat down on his relaxed face. Wind continued to flow freely through his thrashing hair, and his plain white t-shirt flapped uncaringly as the violent, carefree air rushed passed him. Mouth open wide, he yelled once again, feeling the absolute sensation and power of being free from nosy people and their greedy voices.

He could like this forever. Free.

Yet his wild call was abruptly cut off as he was harshly pulled back into the black leather seat by a forceful hand that had grabbed the back of his white tee.

"Mutt, I know you can't control your natural canine instincts, but for once keep you whole body in the car and sit still," commanded a smooth voice beside Jounouchi as he fell roughly onto the leather seat with a small pout in protest.

Damn. For a second, the blonde had forgotten he wasn't totally alone.

"Awe, Kaiba," whined Jou, turning to the heartless CEO, "ye're no fun."

Kaiba Seto merely kept his impassive cerulean eyes, which at the moment were hidden behind a pair of more-than-likely extremely expensive sunglasses, focused on the road and didn't bother to respond to the blonde's whining. After all, he was used to it.

With another pout directed at the CEO, Jou crossed his arms sourly and slumped in his seat. Picturesque scenery flashed rapidly passed honey-brown eyes as he turned to stare at it, intending to completely ignore the lackluster bastard beside him. And really, it was a stunning scene, the lush grass, gorgeous flowers, trees, and plants the blossomed for miles on end—and of course the sound of the ocean (which he refused to look at for the moment, since it was on the other side of Kaiba) breaking melodically against the cliffs only added to the bliss.

But, eventually… Jounouchi became bored. What? Very few things could keeps his attention for an extended period of time.

Hoping that the CEO wouldn't notice, Jounouchi tried to sneak a glance at Kaiba… not so successfully since he ended up staring at him anyway, but eh, it was worth the try.

Beautiful. Definitely.

In Jou's personal opinion, this view was a better than the passing countryside or the sparkling white waves. Honey-brown eyes followed the elegant curve of Kaiba's jaw appreciatively, and he decided that this was a _much_ better view.

"Mutt, you're starting to drool," Kaiba said, emotionless blue eyes never once leaving the road.

At least, as far as Jounouchi could tell with those stupid glasses covering Kaiba's eyes, they never left the road.

Brows furrowed slightly, Jou continued to stare at Kaiba's form, lithe and elegant, perfectly postured as if he owned the entire world (which, Jou offhandedly mused with a snort, Kaiba probably thought he did).

Jounouchi had the sudden urge to poke him, just to see if he could get a reaction out of the indifferent CEO. No wonder Honda always called Kaiba such a stiff, seriously, he was like a friggin' icicle. (Jou was blatantly ignoring the fact that he had also called Kaiba a stiff on several occasions.)

Smirking slightly, an idea suddenly popped into Jou's head (which wasn't often, mind you, at least not good ideas, though that was not saying _this_ was good idea either). Like Jounouchi cared if it was a good idea or not. Screw that.

Shifting into until he was pressed against Kaiba's side, nearly draped over him like a lazy pet would, Jounouchi breathed against the small hairs of Kaiba's neck, a rather _sensitive _spot, Jounouchi had learned.

Kaiba twitched and Jou's smirk grew.

"Mutt," Kaiba growled, through clenched teeth, "what are you doing?"

"Awe, Seto," Jounouchi _purred _close to Kaiba's ear, "whatcha talkin' 'bout?" He planted a teasing kiss beneath Kaiba's ear, nipping at the lobe playfully.

"_Mutt_."

"Yes…" Jou trailed a few taunting kissed against Kaiba's neck, taking in the peculiar but intoxicating smell that was the brunet's, almost like vanilla. "…_master_."

Kaiba almost jerked at that one, and Jounouchi softly chuckled into the crook of the brunet's neck, running his nose lightly against pale, delicious skin. Oh, the blonde was enjoying this way too much.

His hand had found the brunet's thigh, and Jou traced seemingly random but intentional patterns across the crisp cloth of Kaiba's slacks while he continued to trail soft, teasing kisses across Kaiba's neck.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jou could see the brunet's knuckles become whiter as he gripped the steeling wheel fiercely.

"_Mutt_," the snarl came, low and lethal. "what are you _doing_?"

"Thanking you," Jounouchi said, breathing against Kaiba's warm skin, his hand having traveled more toward Kaiba's inner thigh.

"For _what_?"

"For lettin' us get away, far, far away."

There was a pause, and then a barely audible sigh.

"Silly mutt."

Twisting his body slightly, Kaiba turned to look at Jounouchi directly. With one hand, he swiftly grabbed Jou's chin and kissed him. It was short, but so utterly sensuous that Jounouchi couldn't breathe, his breath having caught in his throat.

And then Kaiba released him and turned back to the road, a small smirk at the curve of his lips.

That rather goofy, crooked grin lightly playing on his lips, Jounouchi leaned back against the leather seat and let the warm sun pleasantly beat down on him, content.

_Silly, silly mutt… yes, isn't this a pleasant dream in which you live? But this didn't happen, did it? My poor, poor pup… Do yoi know what I want, Jou-chan? For you to wake up from this horrid place and then, maybe, in reality, both your precious Kaiba and you could go on this trip that he promised you… all you have to do is wake up… please… wake up… _

In the light doze that he was not aware had come over him, Jou shifted uncomfortably, a sudden chill trickling down his spine, like haunting fingers.

That voice… it was different… almost sad… pleading…

…_please…_

Dizziness enveloped his mind in a white fog, so blaring, so sterile, chocking, he wanted to chock on this icy mist that traveled through his veins like a burning drug. Colors spun in tantalizing swirls, meshing and converging in a Picasso-like painting. Whispers haunted his mind, whispers that seemed so distant and faraway—was he really dreaming?

Pleads and cries in pain and sadness? Why was everyone so sad? Had he done something? Why was everyone crying? Why was everyone so utterly sad? Why were the walls white and what was that loud beeping sound that nearly drowned out everybody else's pained cries?

Where was he?

_**Where?**_

…why was everyone so sad…

"_Katsuya, please, pup… wake up, please…"_

The blaring honk of a horn was their only warning.

Jou's head, which had become lax on the leather seat as he drifted amongst dreams and reality, snapped forward and, for a brief moment, his eyes met desperate cerulean.

"_Jou…"_

And then two spheres of blinding yellow enveloped his vision, like a pair of sweltering suns… the devil's eyes.

_The screams became louder, echoed and filled with anguish in his mind… _

The devil's eyes, a yellowish inferno that would swallow him whole, rushed toward him at a speed_ that seemed inconceivable and one that seemed as slow as a snail's, as if he was trapped in some sort of time warp of reality_—a dream, a nightmare.

Then his world spun once more and the ocean was before him, beautiful, white and ever-so deadly.

Iciness struck his body like a Tsunami that threatened to obliterate a whole country, tearing at him, ripping him, shattering him… until he broke, until he cried to be released from this nightmare.

He was dreaming, right? Artic-like water filled his lungs, and he was drowning.

Where was Seto? Seto? Where?

…Fading into the icy black abyss where Jou's fantasized whiteness couldn't reach.

"_Seto!" _

—————————

"_Seto!"_

Sweat trickling down his forehead and chest heaving, Jounouchi awoke once again. Honey-brown eyes snapped wide open and blinked rapidly as if to erase the images from his racing mind. Golden locks that shined like the sun stuck damply to his temples and around his wide, disturbed, dazed eyes. He gasped, trying to draw enough breath, but couldn't, as if something constricted his lungs, something filled them and made it impossible for him to breathe.

Images of the previous dream—or had that been reality while this was merely a dream?—still flashed before his eyes, imprinting themselves in his mind. His surroundings were unknown to him, such in a haze, a dreamy haze, was his mind entrapped.

_And what entraps your mind, little puppy? Do you not entrap your own mind? My poor, poor mutt, so confused so lost in this dream he has created and now… now you cannot tell dream from reality, can you? Silly fool…_

"Jounouchi! Jou-niisan! Are you okay? Jou-niisan!" As the frantic, slightly high-pitched voice penetrated through his troubled trance, Jou realized his world was moving and spinning. Shaking.

_And someday… someday it will break… or, wait, has it not already been smashed, **shattered** into thousands of little tiny pieces that can never be repaired by glue or otherwise? Such a fragile heart, the heart of a sentimental fool living in a dream…_

"Oi! Mokuba!" Jou said, trying to escape the black-haired boy's hands as he tried to shake the death out of him. Unconsciously, the blonde dug his hands into his wild blonde hair as if in discomfort or pain. "Ya can stop shakin' me now! I'm 'wake! I'm 'wake!"

"Jou-niisan…?" Mokuba said hesitantly as if not really sure that Jounouchi had come back to the real world yet. "Jounouchi! Jeez, don't scare me like that!" scolded the twelve-year-old after he had finally been assured that Jounouchi was in his right mind. "You wouldn't answer me, just staring off into space! And you looked like you were having a bad dream!"

"Ah, kid, " Jounouchi grumbled, giving him a lopsided grin as he tiredly lay back down, his thumping hearty having calmed down and ragged breath evened out. Yet, still, despite the reassuring smile he gave Mokuba, the images still played in his mind, over and over again. "Ya ain't got nuthin' to worry 'bout. I'm fine. Nuthin' da matter."

_Yet, don't the images repeat in your mind continuously, and they will haunt your very existence until you try to come to terms with them… till you wake up to the real world and give up this fantasy upon which you so desperately depend…Slow little Jou-chan… _

Mokuba gave him a pointed look, not fooled for a second. "Then why are you sleeping on the couch?"

Jou sat up once more, realizing that he was indeed sleeping on a couch. Huh, imagine that. Oh—wait, now he remembered why he was here. Damn it.

Placing his hands on his small hips, as if a mother scolding her child, Mokuba continued, "And in a living room in the East Wing, which you know is never used."

"Uhh…" Jou started, trying to think of a good excuse.

"You and niisama had a fight, didn't you?" accused the small black-haired boy. Jou mentally cursed him for being too damn smart for his age.

"No! We just… uhh… just…" Jou hurriedly said, still not able to think of a plausible explanation.

"Yes! I know you two did! I know it!" interrupted Mokuba, diminishing any chances for Jou to protest. "And you've been gone sooo looong, Jou-niisan, leaving me with no one to play with! I've missed you! Why were you gone so long, Jou-niisan?"

Mokuba eyes were large and watery now, almost desperate and pleading, which surprised Jounouchi. He hadn't been gone that long, a couple days at the most.

"Hey, hey, c'mon Mokuba," Jounouchi hurriedly said, trying to comfort the raven-haired boy, "I've only been gone a couple o' days, like I said, nuthin' ta worry 'bout."

This time, Mokuba gazed at Jounouchi through wide sorrowful green eyes, lightly shaking his head, as if in pity.

"Silly, silly Jou-kun…" he murmured, voice soft and without his usual, seemingly never-ending exuberance. His tone was so cheerless and distressed—utterly miserable.

Alarm flashing in his eyes, Jounouchi sat up a little straighter to gaze questionably at the younger kid. "Mokuba, what's da matter? Is something wrong wit' yer brother? Why d'ya keep saying it's been s'long since I saw ya?" Urgency crept in his voice, fear implanting it's little seed.

Mokuba just continued to shake his head in an empathic manner, as if too feeling how lost Jou was. "There's something wrong with niisama; he misses you so much, Jou-niisan, I know it. He sees you every day but you're still never really there and it kills him, I think, I know, Jounouchi," Mokuba whispered in the darkness, quietly but rushed as if he didn't have much time, wide green eyes begging and filled with despair. "But I don't know who to be more worried for, niisama… or you, Jou-niisan. You're back, but I don't know if he can believe it, he can't let go, can't give yup hope, but it kills him each day, Jounouchi. You were there and then you were gone, and I don't think niisama can handle you being gone forever."

"S–Seto?" Jounouchi stuttered. "What's killin' him, Mokuba!" Jounouchi demanded desperately, grabbing his shoulders. "_What_?"

"Jou-niisan…" he murmured somberly, eyes filled with such emotion that rooted a worm-like fear in Jou's mind.

"_What?_" Jou yelled fearfully, honey-brown eyes frantic.

"…_You…"_

"Wh…" Jou whispered, relasing Mokuba's shoulders and falling against the back of the coach, eyes empty and his constant glimmer of life stifled. "No, no, no… b–but… _no_…"

"You're killing him, Jounouchi-niisan… please, save him, please…"

_Awe, how sweet, the kid wants you to save your so-called bastard boyfriend. …So will you, mutt, wretched excuse for a human, as in the words of your same lover? …Can you, Katsuya? The question that jeers at you with the lethal head of a cockatrice: How can you save him when you can't even save yourself from a pitiful dream that you have created as an escape from the real world… from life and time, death and love… how can you even begin to save your beloved lover, the one person who you pathetically love—yes little Jounouchi, you love him, I know—above all, when you are so absolutely lost, yourself? Tell me, little Katsuya, how can you end his suffering? I know you know…_

"…I hafta wake up," Jounouchi whispered to vast living room, voice echoing hollowly off the dusty, cobweb-covered walls. "But no… no… no! I can't wake up! I can't! I'm not dreaming! No… can't wake up!""

Confused, his mind a whirling of thoughts… images… memories… clashing and shattering. He clutched his head, hope having vanished in that vile mist which occupied his mind, like a some kind of predator, waiting in the most shadowed depths. Yet he did not whether that lecherous mist was truly reality or just a dream…

Images burned in his mind, as if carved and set into the cortex, yet, no longer, was the sun shining and skies blue.

Rain hammered.

Lightning flashed.

Thunder roared, as a fiend from Hell.

And there was no Kaiba to be seen.

Even so, those beams, like eyes from some wicked beast, smoldering through the darkness with a gross yellow light… a malevolent beast that approaches him with a ruthless hunger…

_Wake up, little Jou-chan, it's the only way to save both your precious Kaiba and yourself… Or, if not, then you have to sleep… a deep sleep which your will drift in eternally, though, perhaps, this will completely destroy your treasured Kaiba, if you where to destroy yourself, ne? …But then, he was the one who shattered and destroyed you in the first place, ne? So the guilt of your destruction will be his own? My, my, revenge is sweet, ne, Katsuya, your revenge?_

"No!" hu muttered, trembling. "Kaiba's a bastard… yeah, but he can't die… I'm not killin' him, I'm not killin' nobody, not killin' Kaiba… can't be, can't be… no!"

_What a twisted little dream, you have dreamt… this fantasy you believe to be reality is nothing more then an illusion of the mind, an escape for the soul…and it will be your end…_

"Jou-niisan…"

"Mokuba?" whispered the blonde, raising his head to stare at the twelve-year-old, but the raven-haired boy had already traveled, like a ghost, soundless and almost seemingly untouchable, across the room, his figure silhouetted in the doorway of the shadowed room.

Cocking his head and almost pleading look in his large blue eyes, he said, "Just thought you should know, Jounouchi, niisama's still up and working in his office. Please… you've been gone so long… he needs you, please… Jou-niisan" And then he disappeared.

_Little shattered puppy… what is he going to do now? _

Shuddering with exhaustion and chills that icily crept done his spine like phantom fingers, Jounouchi clutched his still slightly damp golden locks once more.

_Pathetic, worthless little Jou-chan, who couldn't handle reality and now suffers in a dream that will devour him… Foolish puppy… what are you going to do…_

"I… I don't know…"

Honey-brown eyes were squeezed shut and a bead of icy sweat dripped onto the leather coach.

Even now, images—of reality or a dream?—still flashed through his mind.

* * *

More Notes (otherwise known as author's endless babbling): So concludes chap two of this… totally warped, wtf?-confusing story of mine. Probably another chap or two until the end and all will be answered! Finally. Heh, mou… Thanks for reading!

Reviews are food for the author and are greatly appreciated!

So until next time…

Ja ne! (:

– SA


	3. And So the Dream Ends

Author Notes: Yay! The last chap is here. And out a lot faster than the first! (happy dance)

**disclaimer:** disclaim'd

**notes/warnings:** SetoJou, shonen-ai, yaoi, confusion, general wackiness, probable OOC-ness, language, and the like…

To all my **reviewers** and readers, I want to say a big thank youand especially to Evi who kept making me get off my lazy ass and update! Hah. Anyway, to all you reviewers, you are such a wonderful encouragement so I can't thank you enough! Love ya all!

And without further adieu…

* * *

**Shatter  
**By: scelerus animus

_Chapter Three  
And So the Dream Ends_

—

Looming and dark, the twin doors stood before Jounouchi like some kind of treacherous omen, one that foretold his untimely end. Jounouchi stared at the pair of doors, shuffling his feet with frustration. He really didn't want to go in there. He really, _really_ didn't want to go in there.

Sending a glare toward the twin doors, Jounouchi crossed his arms irritably. He didn't see why he had to be the one to make the first move. Hell, the only reason he came back to this bloody house was to pick up all his junk. No other reason. No other reason at all.

He just… just really didn't want to go in there.

_And why is that, little Jou-chan? Why is that? Is it because you do not want to face reality? You do not want to wake up? Stupid little mutt, so utterly weak. Those cracks in your heart will someday shatter completely and then what will you do? Tell me, mutt? Tell me, little Jou, what will you do when you have destroyed the lives of those you love?_

"Shut up!" the blonde yelled, clutching at his head furiously. "Y-You are just a stupid voice in my head, nothin' more! Just a stupid fuckin' voice! So leave me da hell alone!"

_A voice in your head, am I? Even if I was merely a voice in your, little Jou, it still doesn't say much for your sanity, ne?_

"What do ya want?" Jounouchi pleaded, falling to his knees. "Can't ya just tell me what th' hell ya want wit' me and leave me da hell alone? Just leave me alone!"

_Oh, you know what I want, insipid mutt; you need to wake up and face reality or face jeopardizing your entire existence. _

"I can't wake up!" Jounouchi argued, clawing at his hair. "'Cause I'm not dreaming; I'm not! I can't be!"

_Oh really? Fine then, go inside and see what your pathetic dream has done to one of the people you love most. Go ahead and see the consequences of your pathetic fantasy, imprudent dog!_

"No…"

_Why? Are you afraid? Is the brash, stubborn, reckless Jounouchi Katsuya actually afraid of facing reality? Of finding out that you really are just a selfish puppy?_

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!"

_The why are you hiding out here then, Katsuya? Why won't you go inside? Why, little Jou-chan? Why?_

"'Cause… 'cause—" A piercing crash cut him off mid-sentence.

Honey-brown eyes snapped toward the ominous dark wood doors. Wildly, Jounouchi scanned the double doors, faint apprehension reflecting in those sweet pools.

"Kaiba," he muttered into the silent corridor.

Startling him once again, several more crashes and shouts came from inside the office. Worry began to find it's way into Jounouchi's exhausted features, he tentatively stood up and walked to the twin doors, pressing his ear to the cool wood.

Several mutters and much shuffling where heard from within the office. Jounouchi knew this routine. Knew it very well. Whenever Kaiba would have a particularly bad day, or was simply in a pissed-off mood, etcetera, he would push everyone away and lock himself in his office to work and, more than often, destroy various things.

Yes, Jounouchi knew this routine very well, and he had never liked it one bit. At all.

"Damn it," Jounouchi cursed, running his hands through his mussed golden locks in frustration.

Slowly, he touched the brass doorknob, cool to his touch—almost icy, actually, and smooth as it slid against his burn mark. With a soft click, the door opened and Jou hesitantly stepped inside, surprised that the door had been unlocked.

Darkness immediately surrounded him as the door closed behind him with another click. Darkness and shadows that played tricks with the light across murky walls.

Cautiously, he further advanced into the lightless office, the faint crunches of strewn papers and other foreign objects sounding forbiddingly through the room beneath his feet.

In the center of the office, amongst the scattered papers and other miscellaneous items, kneeled a trembling silhouette—one that as Jounouchi approached, he instantly recognized as Kaiba.

In a flash, Jounouchi crossed the room, stumbling over fallen papers and overturned chairs.

"Kaiba!" he shouted through the dark room bathed in menacing shadows. As he reached the crouched figure, he grabbed a hold of Kaiba's shoulders and spun the CEO around to face him.

Lifeless cerulean eyes met his gaze. Unintelligible words fell from the brunet's mouth, murmurs and mumbles that made no sense to Jounouchi. Words that haunted Jou. Words that terrified the blonde despite the fact that they were incoherent and unintelligible.

"Seto," Jou whispered fearfully, "baby, what's the matter?" He shakily ran his hands through thick dark brown hair and wiped pearly tears that he thought he never see from a pale tormented face.

Abruptly, the undecipherable mutterings paused, and Kaiba blinked almost owlishly at Jounouchi as if not truly believing he was there.

"Pup…?" the CEO whispered, a cracked, broken voice that scared Jounouchi to no ends. What had happened to his beloved Seto? _What? _He had been fine three days ago! Just fine!

_Oh, is that so, little Jou-chan? If he had been fine, why had he yelled at you, screamed at you? Why had he pushed you away when a day earlier, he had searched for you to celebrate your sixth-month anniversary? Was he really okay? _

Through the darkness, Jounouchi could decipher the surprise and disbelief in Kaiba's startling cerulean eyes—eyes that held a lost, empty hue in them which definitely did not belong on Kaiba.

"Seto love, yes, it's me, Jou, your puppy, please," Jounouchi pleaded desperately, hugging Kaiba fiercely, "tell me what's wrong? What's th' matter?"

"Katsuya…" Kaiba muttered, this time the corners of his lips quirking up in a slow smile. But it was smile that chilled Jounouchi to the bones. Scared him. It was a disturbed smile. A lost one. Empty. Soulless.

"No, no, you couldn't be my puppy," murmured Kaiba, shaking his head, pain filling his darkened irises once again. "You're trying to trick me. For you can't be my beautiful puppy, you can't."

"Yes, I am!" Jounouchi argued, shaking Kaiba viciously as if trying to put some sense into him. "It's me, Seto! It's me, Katsuya! Please, it's me!"

What was wrong with Kaiba? This wasn't Kaiba! This wasn't!

This person… it reminded Jounouchi too much of himself…

And it scared him so much…

Where was the cold, merciless CEO who walked down the street as if he owned the whole fucking world?

What had happened to him?

"_What's killin' him, Mokuba? What!"_

"_Joui-neesan… you…"_

"…_You're killing him, Jounouchi-niisan… please, save him, please…"_

_You're killin' your precious Kaiba… just like he killed—shattered you… isn't revenge sweet?_

Jounouchi's mind twirled and whirled, almost as if in an endless merry-go-around. Shadows played across Kaiba's face, accenting his sharp cheekbones and the pain and grief etched into every pale, elegant curve.

Jou wanted to curl into a ball and scream.

"No, no, no, you lie," the CEO continued to reply, brows furrowing as if remembering some far away tragedy. Some tragedy, which had somehow convinced him that, Jounouchi couldn't be there.

"Why? Why do ya think it's not me, Seto?" Jounouchi asked hopelessly, his voice cracking around the edges as icy droplets of salty water leaked down his smudged cheeks. "Why, baby? Please tell me why!"

"Oh no, you can't be my puppy, my beautiful Katsuya," Kaiba whispered, pearly white tears sliding silently down his face once more. This only further scared Jounouchi. Kaiba Seto _never _cried. For nothing or no one. "You can't be my puppy, because I killed my puppy."

At those words, Jounouchi's world crashed down around him, another depthless gorge slashing it's way into the blonde's heart.

…_He broke you, shattered you, so you broke him, ne, Jou-chan?_

"Wh-What?" he demanded. "No! It can't be true; see Seto love, I'm fine, I'm right here! No!"

"Yes! I killed my puppy!" Seto hissed, cerulean eyes suddenly full of fury and madness. He callously pushed Jou away, glaring at him with precarious wrath. "I killed him! I didn't mean to, but I did!"

He collapsed to the floor, sobs resounding through the treacherous chamber. "I killed him… my Katsuya… Jou… puppy…"

Jounouchi stumbled back, his vision swirling and a piercing pain ricocheting through his skull as it slammed against a fallen lamp with a low thud.

"Shit!" He cursed, scrambling around amongst the mess. "Wait… a lamp!" Searching for the ceramic lamp once more, he clicked it on. Dim light bathed the room, and Jounouchi finally noticed how truly chaotic the office had become.

Books, furniture, the computer, even Kaiba's desk was upended on the other side of the room. Otherwise, papers that looked several months old and worn covered every last inch of the dark burgundy carpet.

Newspapers.

_It was pure chaos. A perfect reflection of Jounouchi's own twisted sense of reality and dreams._

Everything blurred and spun around Jounouchi in a dizzying mesh of black and white. Disorientated, Jounouchi stumbled and gazed at the first newspaper he found.

In small printed letters across the top, the date read **June Sixth**. Fear suddenly clenching his heart in a suffocating grip, wide honey-brown eyes moved to look at the headline which read at the top in glaring bold letters: _Secret Lovelife of Kaiba Seto Exposed!_

A large colored picture of Kaiba and him in the park the day before, on their sixth-month anniversary, took up nearly half of the front page.

Immediately tossing away that paper, he picked up another June Sixth paper with trembling hands: _Kaiba Corp. CEO Gay? Truth Revealed! ; then the next: Multibillionaire Kaiba Seto Affair with High School Classmate Jounouchi Katsuya Uncovered!_

"Wh-What the fuck…?" Jounouchi whispered as he thrashed through paper after paper, honey eyes wild and stunned. "No, no… that was th-the fuckin' day… the day the Seto… Seto… fight… no!"

As each glaring, mockful headline passed before before his eyes, Jounouchi soon came across more yellowed and aged newspapers. Newspapers that read **May Ninth**. Four days after their sixth-month anniversary. Three days after their fight.

**May Ninth.** But… but that was today!

"No, no, it can't be…" Jounouchi murmured frantically, shaking his desperately. "it can't… it can't…"

Heart suddenly racing at several knots faster than prior, the haggard teen's eyes moved to gaze at the headline also printed across the top in glaring black letters, a sudden unshakable dread twisting in his stomach almost causing him to feel the need to vomit.

The headline read: Tragedy!_ Star-crossed Lovers: Kaiba Seto and Jounouchi Katsuya_; and the next: _CEO of Kaiba Corp. Kaiba Seto's Boyfriend Comatosed in Horrific Accident_; and the next: _17-year-old Jounouchi Katsuya, Supposed Lover of Kaiba Seto, Placed in Coma by Hit-n-Run_

Paper after paper passed before his troubled honey-brown eyes, almost in a blur, in a daze, as if he were trapped in some sort of wretched dream, a nightmare, which he couldn't escape.

Standing, he stumbled towards the double doors in an attempt to get away, just to get away from everything. Yet his world continued to spin and swirl. As he walked, something crunched beneath his feet, and he fell.

Before his eyes remained the shards and shatters of a glass figurine of a golden puppy dog that Jounouchi, with Mokuba's help of course, had given Kaiba for their sixth-month anniversary. Now the golden glass puppy dog lay before him in thousands of jagged shatters. It must have been one of the items Kaiba had thrown against the wall in frustration.

Poor, poor puppy…

_Poor, poor Jou-chan…_

"No, no, no…" he continued to mutter in a disbelieving mantra.

All he saw was black and white, glaring and spiteful, mocking him, deriding, scornful. And red—a reddish-gold that seeped into his vision from the corners, concealing the rest of the world from him—reality or a dream.

_See, did I not tell you, mutt? Look at what you wretched fantasy has done to the one you love most? Because of this dream in which you rather exist, you are killing your precious Kaiba, breaking him, shattering him, before he could break you, isn't that right? But, I suppose this is what you wanted. After all, you were always a stickler for revenge, ne, little Jou-chan? He killed you, so you killed him, isn't that right? Are you happy now? Do you enjoy this little dream of yours anymore? Do you, Katsuya?_

"No…"

And then Jounouchi's world became enveloped in darkness.

—————————

All that surrounded him from corner to corner was an infinite white, so atrocious and suffocating. Sprawled across a horridly white floor—not really a floor at all, more like an infinite abyss of wicked white—Jounouchi lay gasping. Exhaustion and fatigue seemed to have spread throughout his bones without warning and his skull felt like a bag of bricks as he tried to lift it. Dizziness instantly assaulted him, and his vision swam. Staring out into the vast whiteness, a swirling blur of nothingness, he saw a dark silhouette, tall and looming, not but a few feet away from him.

His vision continued to swim in and out of whiteness and blackness as images flashed through his mind. He remembered.

He remembered things that he forgotten, things that he had purposely pushed far from his mind while he had locked himself in a his own safe woven cocoon of fabricated dreams where nothing could touch him.

But it seemed a crack had formed in his fantasy, and he remembered. He remembered the fight. He remembered the nights he had slept on a bench in the park. He remembered before the fight, when Kaiba had planned a trip for them just to get away, far, far away from everything. But there had been no car crash like in his dream within a dream, for they had never been able to go on that trip.

But he remembered another crash; another pair of blinding yellows lights—headlights—like the devilish eyes of some unknown monster, heading straight for him. It had been raining that night, May Ninth, and he had been headed toward home—Kaiba's mansion.

He remembered never making it. He remembered voices. He remembered pain. He had hated the pain.

Attempting to raise himself on his knees, Jounouchi coughed and collapsed to the floor once again. The silhouette shifted before him and approached his drained form and kneeled before it.

A face and features swam hazily before his blurry honey-brown eyes, and Jounouchi blinked rapidly.

"S-Seto…"

"_Silly, silly mutt,"_ murmured Kaiba in an all to familiar voice—one that only now Jounouchi recognized as both the CEO's and the voice which had plagued his mind these past days. _"My poor, poor pup…"_

"S­-Seto," Jounouchi muttered as he tried to sit up once more. He felt so tired, just so tired. "What are ya doin' here?"

"_Foolish little puppy, Jou-chan,"_ Kaiba murmured once again as he took a gentle hold of Jou's chin so that striking cerulean eyes met muddled honey-brown. His touch was ice-cold to Jou's skin. _"Why do you wish to exist in this dream, in these memories of the past? Please, pup, I'm sorry, why can't you just wake up…"_

Jounouchi tried to shake his head. "B-But…"

"_What must I do, pup? What must I do to snap you out of this dream, please Jounouchi…"_ Kaiba asked. Grabbing the blonde's shoulders roughly, the CEO shook him._ "Please! I've tried! Damn it, mutt, Jou… what can I do? What? I tried… I've tried so hard to snap you out of this dream… do you really hate me so much that you'd rather exist in this fabricated dream—these memories— than wake up and come back to me…? Please, I'm a fool I know, I know… a stupid, arrogant fool who idiotically put his damned reputation before one of the people I love most…"_

Jounouchi stared at Kaiba, thoughts whizzing through his head seemingly at the speed of light. They pounded and pounded against his skull so he couldn't reason or even breathe… it hurt so much… he was so confused… "No, Seto… Seto… no…"

"_Please Katsuya… please wake up and come back to me… I never meant to break you, please I never meant to shatter you…Katsuya…"_

He sinking beneath an ocean of white… drowning…

And then Jounouchi was in a room. Another white room, but this time there were walls and a tiled floor and… and a steady beeping sound, one he recognized, that echoed treacherously in his mind… as well as in his heart… like a nail that continued to be driven into it's delicate surface… until it completely shattered.

Realizing that he was able to stand properly without stumbling so much, Jounouchi raised himself off the floor and looked about the room, wondering where in the world—whether a dream or reality—was he now.

What met his honey-brown eyes sent another jolting pain through his head and his heart.

A figure lay motionless on a neat hospital bed, hooked to several tubes and wires that ran into several bulky machines, including the one which emitted that incessant beeping, while a small ball of light periodically traveled up and down a jagged green line. In an uncomfortable-looking chair beside the bed, a dark brown-haired head rested next to the motionless patient in a light doze, hand grasped in the figure's pale, frail hand.

On the wall beside the two figures, a calendar had been turned to the month of September.

Jounouchi instantly recognized the two people as Kaiba Seto and himself.

"No, it can't be," he muttered frantically. "No, it can't be, it can't… no, no, no… it's not real!" He clutched fiercely at his head, honey eyes squeezed shut.

"_But isn't it, little Jou?"_ questioned a silky voice behind him.

Jounouchi immediately spun around to stare at the person who had just appeared in the room. Kaiba Seto stood before, as he had been in that white abyss moments ago.

"No," Jounouchi said stubbornly, "it isn't. Ye're not real. This is not real. It's just a dream, a dream! You're not _real_!"

Crossing his arms, Kaiba nonchalantly leaned against the white hospital room's wall. One arched eyebrow was raised in mock. _"No, perhaps, _I'm _not real, merely an apparition of your beloved Seto Kaiba created from your imagination—perhaps, because of a desperate subconscious wish to cling to reality before you completely drift off into your created fantasy. But that," _he said, nodding his head over Jou's shoulder at the scene by the hospital bed, _"that is indeed real, mutt."_

"Liar!"

Kaiba shrugged impassively. _"Your precious Kaiba lied to you sometimes, indeed. He told you that you two had all the time in the world, told you that you would go far, far away someday from this damned world, didn't he? But I assure you, little Jou-chan, I'm not lying now. And if you don't wake up, you'll kill him. But perhaps, that is what you want, ne? For he nearly killed you, broke you, the day he reverted back to his old spiteful self toward you, the day the newspapers were printed with the picture of you and him in the park on your so-called anniversary. …He nearly shattered you, ne?"_

"No!"

Kaiba sighed, pushing off against the wall, and slowly approached the blonde. _"Foolish, stubborn little puppy. Do you know what worries Kaiba the most?"_ he asked, taking a gentle hold of Jounouchi's chin in an all too familiar manner and forcing the blonde to look into deep cerulean eyes, which concealed the pain beneath their endless blue.

"_It scares me, Katsuya. It scares me not knowing how long you will last before you completely shatter because of this dream of yours. How long can you last living in this fantasy, in these memories, as I have to slowly watch you deteriorate and fade away before my very eyes? I love you, pup, please… Why can't you just wake up, Katsuya?"_

And then Kaiba kissed him, soft at first and his lips so very warm against Jou's. But Jounouchi's mind seemed to have frozen as that relentless beeping echoed ruthlessly in his head. As a result, Kaiba's kiss became fiercer, more desperateas he deepened it, trying to get a response.

The kiss tasted so very good to Jounouchi, so very delicious, and he never wanted it to end.

Yet staring into Kaiba's depthless blue eyes, in his own mind's eye as well, Jounouchi saw his life, fast and fleeting, saw Kaiba—his Seto—saw Mokuba, saw his friends, all crying and loaded down with grief, with the pain that reality had placed upon them… He saw the white hospital room, saw Kaiba—the imperishable Kaiba Seto—_crying_, saw the retangular white box, a heart monitor, that contiued to emit a periodical beep…

Through the cracks and shatters of his mind and heart, he saw each world, each dream, each fantasy, and each horrible reality… He saw them and it hurt… it hurt _so much_.

And he saw a time, a world, where everything was okay, when there had been no pain, no grief, no sheer agony…

That wonderful place he never wanted to leave, _couldn't _leave, even if he had wanted to…

…_never… never… never…_

Because… because… the truth was that they didn't have all the time in the world, and dreams… dreams did indeed die…

So Jounouchi broke the mesmerizing kiss and pushed Kaiba away, stumbling backwards.

Kaiba reached out for him, cerulean eyes desperate, pleading, which made Jou wonder what had he done, for Kaiba Seto never pleaded or begged. It made him want so badly to run back to Kaiba and kiss him again and keep kissing him forever. Yet he didn't go back—back to reality.

He couldn't.

Smiling that lopsided grin of his, he merely said, "Love ya too, Seto…"

Then Jounouchi Katsuya fell, heart finally shattering into a thousand pieces. And his dream ended.

—————————

In a silent, sterile white room, where two people slept, the blonde-haired one immobile on a bleached white hospital bed while the other's dark brown head rested upon the blonde's prone chest, lightly holding the blonde's pale hand, an incessant beeping paused and became one long continual beep that echoed hollowly throughout the entire room until the cerulean-eyed brunet woke up.

**End**

* * *

Ending Notes: Once again, thank you all who got this far! And, yes, I know I left it rather vague. So it's up to the reader to decide in the end if maybe the flatline starts to beep again and Jou wakes up or not or some other possibility. Like I said, it's all up to the reader. Maybe, I'll make a sequel, but if I do, it probably won't be in the near future. Or maybe I just won't write a sequel at all. Who knows? o.O

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks and until next time…

Ja ne!

– scelerus animus


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